Honor and Vengance, a Tale of Two Souls
by Tamphis
Summary: Now with an actually edited sixth chapter! Ranma and Ranko have returned to Nerima, and things are about to change radically. But will it be for the better?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the AMG! Series, nor do I own Ranma ½, so Please don't sue me. Please?

Chapter 1:

The beginning of the end.

In the heavens, beyond what human eyes can perceive, lies the realm of the Kami. Heaven, Asgard, Valhalla, Paradise, Nirvana, call it what you will. But all those names basically mean the same thing: This is where the Gods and Goddesses live. And currently, the foremost of those Gods, was really, really, mad.

Kami-Sama, Lord God of Creation, was watching the life of one Ranma Saotome.

HE was watching Ranma's life; his triumphs, his failures, and all of the abuse heaped upon him. Kami-Sama watched as Ranma's father engaged him to one woman after another, and occasionally men, for no other reason than to produce the greatest fighter in the world. HE watched as they settled down in an area of Japan that once was a breeding ground for lesser demons and evil spirits. He watched as one by one, almost all of Ranma's so-called friends were taken over by the evil energies of the area; making a normally sweet, if a little jealous girl into a raving psycho-bitch, turning a promising young Kendo student who idolized the ancient Samurai into an obsessive nut case. But the greatest injustice was taking one of the most innocent and pure of women, and turning her into a reality-blind house-slave.

And yet, throughout it all, Ranma simply accepted it. He endured all of the abuse, all of the torment, and all of the injustice, because that was the way he was. Ranma may have gotten a little angry from time to time, but it was quickly over and done with. He may have gotten a little jealous from time to time, but that, too, was quickly resolved. Well, Kami-Sama was going to put a stop to that! And he knew just the way to do it, too...

It was a typical day at the Tendo Dojo, Ranma was thrashing Genma, Akane was playing With Ryoga/P-Chan, Kasumi was serving tea, and Nabiki was scheming on how to use all of this for her personal, gain. Ranma and Genma were trading blows faster than the eye could normally see, and throughout all of that, not a word was spoken. Oddly enough, no body commented on this deviation from the norm, too wrapped up in their own delusions to notice. With one final throw, Ranma knocked his oh-so-loving father into the Koi pond, and ended the match.

"Honestly, P-Chan, you'd think that Ranma would have gotten tired of showing off by now." said Akane.

"I ain't showin' off, Akane." responded Ranma, "Just 'cause you can't do the stuff I do don't mean that you can-" The rest of Ranma's statement was abruptly cut off as Akane malleted him into the sky.

"Hmph, that'll show him not to make light of my skills." Akane snorted in her totally unfeminine way.

* * *

Ranma was still sailing through the skies when he noticed that his landing zone seemed to be a little... off. It was shimmering, like the road does when it's hot outside, and the shimmer seemed to be following him as he twisted and turned to avoid it.

Resigning himself to being subject to yet, another, Amazon wedding scheme, Ranma began to sub-consciously strengthen his mental and emotional walls. However, when he hit the ground, it seemed to sort of splash around him and he found himself in a completely different area than he expected.

The room, if one could describe it as such, was black on one side, and white on the other. Ranma, himself, stood exactly in the middle of the room, one half in light, the other half in darkness. Aside from the monochromatic color scheme, the room was completely featureless. No doors, no windows, and no light other than what seemed to be ambient.

Before he could take a step, Ranma stiffened and felt two more presences enter the room. They stood on opposite sides, a man on the side of darkness, and a woman on the side of light.

In unison, they spoke, "Hello, Ranma. I'm here to make you an offer."

Ranma, who had been on his guard eve since the road swallowed him up, hadn't relaxed on iota. His suspicions in high gear, he hesitantly responded. "What kinda offer?"

The male figure, shrouded in darkness, answered. "One that will allow you to seek revenge upon those who have wronged you."

The woman bathed in light, responded as well. "An offer that will allow you to completely re-define Honor."

Again, in eerie unison, the spoke. "And all you need to do is accept."

Ranma looked at them, each in turn, weighing and judging based on their respective power levels. The man was far, far more powerful than he, but it all felt tainted and dark. The woman was just as powerful as the man, but strength was of purity, and light. They both were regarding him with half expectant, half eager looks and seemed to be waiting for a response from him.

Ranma decided that more information was needed, before accepting either offer, or flat out refusing both of them. So, he decided to ask them a simple question, and hopefully get a simple answer.

"First of, before I accept either answer, I ain't sayin' I will, mind ya, what are you?"

Both the man and the woman looked a little amused by this question, but chose to answer in complete honesty, each believing that Ranma would choose to go with them.

The woman answered, a small smile upon her lips. "I am a goddess, I strive to help mortals achieve paradise. Accepting my offer will ensure you the position of a God of honor, so speaks Kami-Sama himself."

The man, a cruel smirk twisting his face, looked at Ranma and replied. "I am a Demon, I strive to bring mortals into ruin and despair. Accepting my offer will allow you to become a Demon of revenge, authorized and notated by the Dark prince himself."

Still cautious, Ranma asked them another question.

"What if I refuse both of ya?"

Both the Goddess and the Demon looked a little stunned by this, and answered in a slightly disbelieving tone.

"Umm... well, We Gods and Goddesses would have to accept that answer, to be honest."

"Err... actually, us Demons would more than likely try again and again to get you to accept our offer. But, if you could refuse three times, then we would leave you alone."

"Be aware, though, refuse and you will go right back to where and what you were: a prize being fought over and abused by the ones you trust."

"Can either of you do anything about my curse?" Ranma asked them.

Both figures peered intently at him, as if scrutinizing the very fiber of his being.

"Interesting..." they finally spoke.

"Ranma," the Demon began, "would you like to know why no cures have worked for you?"

"Sure! That'd be great! But it don't mean that I'm accepting yer offer , ya know."

"Of course..." the Demon said, "Anyway, the reason that no cure exists for Jusenkyo is that it actually bonds another soul to the victim's. And because of that, the magic alters the victim's body to accommodate the new soul. So, because of the other soul, you can never be free of Jusenkyo's whims."

Ranma seemed to digest this information for a moment, before reaching a decision.

Looking at both figures in turn, he began to think about his words for a moment before speaking.

"Is there any way to separate us? I mean the other soul and myself. Also, what will she know, as far as I'm concerned?"

The Demon paused for a moment, before responding. "To be honest, I don't know. She could know everything, and be your age, or know nothing, or be reborn as a child, it's hard to say. Honestly, there's only one way to find out. And that's to separate the two of you."

The Goddess decided to put her opinion in at that moment.

"In all fairness, I would suggest that you and her separate, and try living together for a while. See if that doesn't fix a few of your problems, before deciding which, if any, of our offers to decide upon."

Ranma paused and considered her words for a moment, before nodding his head in agreement. "I'll do it. Go ahead and separate us."

The Demon and the Goddess raised their hands, and in unison, began chanting. The Demon in a harsh, guttural tongue and the Goddess in a smooth, silvery one. Motes of light began to gather around Ranma, and even as he felt some of his Ki drain away, he saw a body begin to form next to him. Obviously female, with flaming red hair and sapphire blue eyes, it was unmistakably his cursed from. She turned to him and smiled; speaking the words he had subconsciously learned to fear.

"Ranma, I love you."

* * *

This is how things ended in Nerima, not with a bang, nor a whimper. They ended as they began, in the silence of a rainstorm. As with the day, almost a year ago, the rain came down in silencing sheets, obscuring all from sight. People, long since inured to the chaos of Nerima, hurried to and fro on various errands, comfortably ensconced within slickers and secure under umbrellas, all the while ready to react to the slightest hint of danger. Or rampaging martial artists.

Once again, two figures emerged from the rain, unprotected from the deluge. Once again, one is larger than the other, and once again the sounds of an argument can be vaguely discerned above the sounds of the rain.

"...I think we should!"

"No, we should not! You may be my other half, in all most every way imaginable, but that is something we simply cannot do! You know the rules as well as I do!"

"Rules be damned, I want Revenge!"

While these words were a common occurrence in Nerima, the usual target of them had been missing for about two weeks, so the various passers-by turned to look out of curiosity. What they saw both surprised and horrified them. There, in the midst of them, stood both forms of the Bringer of Chaos and Destruction, Saotome Ranma.

Those who hadn't already run were seriously considering it at this point, and the next words out of the girl's mouth made the choice for them.

"Dammit, Ranma! I love you, I really do, but this good nature of yours is really starting to get on my nerves!"

Ranma sighed, and ran a hand through his now silver-white hair.

"I'll tell you what, Ko-chan, if any of the Wrecking crew decide to start something, you can finish it." At this, the girl started smiling in an evil manner. "BUT!" and her face fell a little, "ONLY those who have wronged us in the past, and only to the extent that they have wronged us. Do you understand? My sphere won't allow such breaches of Honor beyond that, understand?"

Bouncing around like a kid on a sugar high, the girl nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeahyeahyeah, I got it! Oooohhh, this is gonna be soo much fun!"

Ranma just sighed and thought back to when they began this journey together.

* * *

Shortly after accepting the respective offers, Ranma and his girl- half, called Hiko, began training in their new powers and responsibilities. Magic was quickly mastered by Hiko, while all things martial were absorbed by Ranma as a sponge soaking up water would. That is to say, rather quickly.

It was in the third year of training, Asgard time, when Ranma and Hiko found that as powerful as they were separately, together they were nigh unstoppable.

They found this out when challenging a group of "lesser" demons who were threatening an alternate reality.

HIko provided covering fire with her magic, while Ranma took up a divine sword and ripped into the small army like a thresher through wheat. Their tactics were flawless and perfectly executed, and they were able to dispatch the enemy group in quickly.

It was shortly after the battle, while Hiko was healing up most of Ranma's injuries that Ranma decided to ask a question that had been dancing around in his mind for quite a while now.

"Ko-chan," he began, "when we were first separated, you said that you loved me. Now, I've been told that a lot by people seeking to posses or control me, and I was wondering what, exactly you meant by that?"

Suddenly aborting the spell, Hiko stiffened and thought for a moment.

"Ranma, you how Jusenkyo works, right?"

"Yeah...?"

"Well, shortly after your dip, and our bonding, I awoke. That's not really a good description, but it's the closest I can get. Anyway, I watched while everything happened to you, all the fiancés, the challenges, the pain and humiliation, and the loneliness. I watched you bear it all stoically and always try and make right what was wrong. I watched as you tried to avoid falling in love with Akane, and I watched as little by little you did. I have seen to the very depths of your soul, Ranma, and I fell in love with the person I saw there. Even if I had never been able to get separated from you, I would have fallen in love with you, nonetheless. While we may not have known what true love is supposed to feel like, I know what I feel, and it tells me that you are the most important person to me, and I would do anything to make you happy or keep you safe."

Ranma stiffened slightly at this revelation, but chose to hold his tongue at it, hoping beyond hope that she wouldn't ask him to be her fiancée.

"All I ask of you, Ranma, is please don't reject me. You are all I have in this world, and even if you can't accept my love, at least allow me to be near you. Please, Ranma, please don't reject me..."

Silent sobs wracked her small frame, and hot tears fell against Ranma's back.

And despite his misgivings, he knew that no matter what came, she would always be there for him. She would listen, and never judge. She would welcome him with open arms, and never turn him away.

And in that single moment of revelation, his heart made a choice.

Ranma's reverie was quickly broken by Hiko's gentle nudge in the ribs.

"Ranma, we're here."

Standing before them, silent as the rain, were the gates of the Tendo Dojo.

Taking a deep breath, Ranma raised a hand, and gently knocked on the gate, bidding entrance to the home beyond.

* * *

Kasumi's smile is a wonder of nature, even beyond its constant presence, the effects it had on those around it are nothing short of miraculous. Able to lift the heart and spirits of even the most jaded and battle-hardened fighter, her simple smile kept the family hopeful. But lately, that smile has been somewhat forced and empty, ever since two weeks ago, when Ranma didn't come back from his flight.

Of course, everyone thought that he'd be back in a few hours, with that same smirk across his face, bragging about beating someone else. Or, in Akane's case, from being perverted with his floozies, or picking on Ryoga.

But, he didn't return.

Hours became days, and still no sign of Ranma. The Fiancé brigade had come and gone, leaving their mark on the poor, long-suffering house, demanding information on Ranma's where-abouts. Nabiki, naturally, had her information network hard at work looking for him, but to no avail.

Days became weeks, and he still hadn't shown up. Every day, the fiancé brigade came by and demanded results, even after Nabiki telling them that no Ranma in sight meant just that, no Ranma in sight.

So it was, shortly after the last day of the second week would come to a close, that Kasumi was startled by a knock on the gates. Cautiously opening the door, she looked out and unsuccessfully stifled a gasp. There, with a few minor alterations, were both sides of Ranma.

Noting the shell-shocked expression on her face, Hiko spoke up.

"Hello, Kasumi, may we come in?"

Nodding dumbly, she stepped out of the way and bid the two of them entrance into the house. After entering, and securing some towels to dry off with, the male and female Ranma looked around the front room. Genma and Soun were frozen mid-play in another game of Go, Nabiki was sitting on the couch, staring at them, and Akane, while holding P-Chan were simultaneously doing a very good impression of a fish.

Ranma looked around, amusement clear in his eyes, and spoke.

"I suppose that you'd all like some sort of explanation?"

The assorted idiots nodded.

"Well, it works like this. I'll talk, after everyone else gets here. There will be no interruptions, or we will be leaving. Is that understood?"

Again, the idiots nodded.

"Alright then," Hiko said, "Kasumi, if you could please call the crew together? In the mean time, I must get some dry clothes on, and see about getting my husband out of these wet ones." She casually turned to Kasumi and smirked. "Really easy on the eyes, and an amazing warrior, but he doesn't have the sense to come in out of the rain." Ranma shot out an indignant "hey!" at her comment.

Despite herself, Kasumi giggled at the situation.

Phone dialing commenced, while Akane began boiling in her righteous anger. How dare he do that! How dare he make her worry and then come waltzing back with a bad dye job and his girl half on his arm! How dare he even think about adding another girl to his harem! Well, that pervert was gonna get his, for sure, and then she'd deal with that red-haired demon!

Ironically enough, Ryouga was thinking the same thing. But, then again, that nothing new, is it?

About thirty minutes later, the crew had assembled, the amazons using the door for a change, and was sitting quietly after the warnings from Nabiki about Ranma leaving if so much as a peep was heard. Then the crew heard voices coming down the stairs. It was indeed both Ranma and Hiko, and both were dressed in red and black silks, Ranma in his usual tunic/kung-fu pants combo, and Hiko in a very fetching cheongsam. Ranma's silver-white hair made him look a lot more mature and Hiko had grown to the point where "cute" didn't apply. Words like "aw-inspiring" and "breathtaking" were appropriate, as was "knock yer tongue in the dirt hot" from Ryouga. But, then again, he spent a lot of time abroad.

" Casual observation, eh Ko-chan?"

" Defiantly, Ma-chan."

Ranma's cleared throat got everyone's attention right quick in a hurry.

"Before we begin, let's get one thing straight. I am not on the market, so to speak. " Before anyone could speak, he raised a hand and calmly reminded them that they had given their word to hear him out before speaking, and were they really so dishonorable that they'd go back on their word?

"At any rate, perhaps you all remember a day about two weeks ago when Miss Tendo malleted me away for making a very reasonable, if somewhat rude, statement?" Receiving nods, he continued." What happened was that Kami-Sama himself decided to intervene in my life. It seems that my file, yes, the almighty has files on EVERYONE here, had somehow escaped his attention for all these years, and he decided that having me on one of the sides was better than having me dead within the year."

Here he paused for a moment to let that all sink in, and smirked at the confused looks they began giving him.

"Continuing on, my impromptu flight ended with me coming-to in a strange room, one half white, the other half black. It would seem that Kami-Sama also sent a couple of representatives to explain the deal they were offering. Before I accepted anything, I had my cursed form split off of me and made her own person, and here she is." Ranma lifted a hand and indicated Hiko, who flashed a classic pin-up pose for a moment.

"I'm certain that you're wondering who made the offer as well as what it was, aren't you?"

More nods from the idiots.

"The Goddess Ameterasu Omikami and the Demon-Lord Onno Tongou made the offers for the respective sides, and the offer was to join their ranks, becoming either god or devil. So, we decided to split the offer. Hiko went with the dark, and I went with the light."

"Now, before you start screaming denials, I want you to consider two things. 1: we completely vanish for a time, with no clue of anyone seeing us, 2: we are both MUCH older that when we left. Now, can anyone come up with an explanation, or can I finish?"

Ranma took a deep, steadying breath, and spoke again.

"I am Ranma Omikami, God of Honor first class, unlimited license."

Hiko smiled up at everyone, and it was not a nice smile either.

"I am Hiko Omikami, Demoness of Revenge, first class, unlimited license."

Broadening her smile a touch, Hiko spoke on.

"And, we are here to rectify a few past mistakes made by the panda. This is also a sort of vacation for us, so attacking me or Ranma will be met with swift and painful retribution. Are we clear?"

The assorted NWC crew began bobbing their heads like maniacs.

Well, all except Akane, that is. Basically, she started fuming at the way that everyone was fawning over Ranma's girl side, and just accepting what he said as the god's-honest truth. Well, she'd show them! She wasn't gonna take this laying down! So, she set down P-chan and did the single most idiotic thing in her life, to date.

"You! I challenge you for the right to Ranma!"

Author's Ranting Corner:

This is a revision of one of my earlier works, I changed a bit of the formatting, altered a name, and tweaked a little here and there. Personally, I think that the improvements are good, but I'd like your opinion as well.

-Tamphis.


	2. Chapter 2

Honor and Vengeance: a tale of two souls

Disclaimer: I disclaim. Does that count? No? Ummm… How about, I don't own Ah! My

Goddess! Or Ranma ½, nor do I claim to. Therefore, I disclaim.

Chapter 4

All is not right with the world…

"You! I challenge you for the right to Ranma!"

Hiko arched an eyebrow, and smiled. It was not a pleasant smile, more like the ones that a shark gives a surfer, or the one that a snake gives to a bird just before devouring it. The smile chilled the souls of everyone viewing it, but seemed to have no effect on Akane. The fact that the woman was simply smiling at her gave Akane's self-righteous state a bit more fuel, and she decided to really bone herself.

"Unless, of course, you're scared to fight me. I mean, I would be, too, if it were me there."

Hiko's smile had gone from simply chilling to progressively more and more animalistic as Akane's tirade wore on.

"Really? Fight YOU? You want to challenge me for my husband? You want me to stoop to your level and treat him like an object to be bartered? You want me to give up the MAN I LOVE to appease your EGO?" Hiko was getting angrier and angrier at each word, and had gone from sitting calmly to standing in fury.

"Well then let's get this party started, AKANE NO BAKA!" In a sort of bizarre twist, Hiko whipped out an ebon black War hammer and slammed Akane into the floor with it.

WHAM!

"That was for NEVER listening!"

SLAM!

"That was for Taking Ryoga's side without even thinking!"

SPLAT!

"Force-feeding us that sludge you called food!"

SMASH!

"Calling us pervert! When YOU were always walking in on US!"

CRASH!

"Acting like everything was our fault when everyone around us was the actual cause! WE were the unfortunate victims here, not YOU!"

"That's enough, Ko-chan. Any more of that and you'll kill her."

What was left of Akane was a purple-blue colored bruise with short black hair embedded in the ground. She wasn't bleeding, but was barely hanging on to consciousness and could almost make out Hiko's face. The absolutely demonic snarl on the beautiful woman's face was the last thing Akane could see, and just before blacking out, she heard a few words.

"Your pain is only beginning, Akane Tendo. We WILL play again soon, I'm sure."

The rest of the crew sat in obvious shock at the brutal display of violence, although the remainder of the former-fiancé brigade thought it was about time that Akane got knocked down a peg or two.

Ryouga was the first to recover, and screamed in fury.

"Ranma! How dare you do that to Akane!"

Soun, Genma, and Kuno, all of which were getting ready to use various and assorted techniques to attack with, backed him. Just as violence was about to erupt, Ranma said four words.

"Sit down, shut up."

And, amazingly enough, it worked. All four of them looked as if their view on life had taken a sudden twist for the bizarre. Ranma, defending himself? Without using his fists? Amazing!

"Okay, first of all, Hiko did that, not me. Secondly, Akane's had that and more coming for almost two years now; and don't try and tell me I'm wrong, we all know that it's true. More to the point, though, is this: I have had it with all of you, I really have. I used to think that some of you were friends, rivals maybe, but friends none the less. It occurred to me while I was away that almost all of you hate me for some insanely stupid reasons. "

Ranma turned and looked Ryouga straight in the eye.

"I waited for you, Ryouga, and I would have been there on your oh-so-important fourth day, if Genma hadn't knocked me out and drug me off. I never forced you to follow me to Jusenkyo, and I never revealed your secret. All I tried to do was keep you dishonoring yourself and you blamed me for it. All I ever tried to do was extend the hand of friendship to you in the only way I knew how, with the taunts and teasing. And you hate me for it. And now, I hate you for it as well. But more than that, I hate myself for letting you make me hate you. We're through, Ryouga. One more offence, random attack, or attempt to blame me for your problems, and my vow is broken, understand?"

Without pause, Ranma turned to the fathers and began the next part of his speech.

"As for you two, Akane and I MIGHT have gotten somewhere, if the two of you hadn't been constantly interfering. But, at every turn, there was another scheme, another reminder of the engagement, another fiancé, Genma! But through all of that, I remained true to Akane. Despite her protests to the contrar and her baseless accusations. Throughout all of the craziness, I never once betrayed any of the girls by choosing any one of them. And all of that is the fault of you two drunken morons! Now, I do believe that there are several warrants for your arrest, both of you, and if I hear one more thing about marrying a Tendo, I will let the police know exactly where to find you both, are we clear?"

Seeing the moronic duo begin to puff up, Ranma let a little of his power trickle into his voice.

"I said, ARE WE CLEAR?"

Energetic nodding answered him.

Ranma turned and looked at Mu Tsu next.

"Mu Tsu, I never loved Xian Pu, I barely liked her. Had things been slightly different, I could have loved her. BUT: she used ever dirty, sneaky, underhanded trick in that very large book of her and Ku Lon's to ensure that never happened. And now, I hate her just as much as I hate the rest of you. I was never an obstacle to your happiness, Mu Tsu, she was. "

Ku Lon spoke next, and her voice was heavy with age.

"Son-, No, Ranma. I would like to know what exactly happened to you to bring about such a revolution in your mind. Where have you been, how did she come to be, and why do you have no Ki?"

Hiko smirked a little.

"So, you weren't paying attention earlier when Ma-chan explained things? He told you exactly what happened to us then."

Ku Lon looked a little chagrined.

"Well, miss, I was hoping that I'd misheard, or Ranma was having us on, or something similar."

"Sorry, elder, everything I said is true. Besides, Gods can't lie. It's against **THE RULES**." Ranma responded.

"I can," Hiko piped up, "but I don't. It's too hard to keep up with who you've told what to. Besides, as Nabiki already knows, it's not what you say, but how you present it that makes the biggest effect. Right, 'Biki-chan?"

Nabiki smirked and gave a nod.

"So… what are **THE RULES**, if I might ask."

"Guidelines that govern how Gods and Devils interact on the mortal plane, with each other, and with mortals like the rest of you. Mostly, it's about how much of the TRUTH we can let slip." Ranma said.

"So… what is this **TRUTH**?"

"Are you really certain that you want me to answer, Elder Ku Lon? The very knowledge might destroy your mind." Hiko smirked like the cat that ate the canary, drank the cream, knocked over the trash, framed the dog, and came out completely blameless.

Seeing that Ku Lon was eagerly nodding her head, the happily wedded couple decided to humor her request, and tell her the **TRUTH**. As one, Ranma and Hiko moved over to flank the tri-centurial elder and leaned over a shoulder each, whispering every good or evil thing that she had done in her life, and whether or not it was a "good thing" from the point of view of the eternal balance.

For the first minute, Ku Lon was able to withstand it, with nor apparent ill effects. After that, and with each progressive minute, her eyes got a little wilder, and her mind slipped a little more, until Ranma and Hiko decided that enough was enough and stopped whispering to her.

Ku Lon let out a maniacal giggle and fell over, dropping her cane in the process. Upon hitting the ground, she began rolling from side to side, giggling and mumbling absolute nonsense.

It was decided, universally, it seemed, that it was quite late (8:30 pm), and that perhaps things would be better if they tried to resume in the morning. Everyone left, with the exception of the residents and Saotome guests, of course, and thought over what revelations the day had brought.

Well, everyone except Ku Lon, she was still mumbling about baboons in g-strings.

Trust me, you don't want to know.

Xian Pu did, however, have thepresence of mind to collect her multiple-times great grandmother and return to the Cat Cafe with her.

Meanwhile, back at the Tendo home and Dojo/potential temple site, Kasumi was torn between being happy for Ranma and Hiko, and being upset that she had hit Akane. No matter how much she had deserved it. And to think, they had driven poor elder Ku Lon mad! Why, that wasn't very nice at all, no matter how irritating the old biddy might have been.

Perhaps she should ask Ranma and Hiko to be a little nicer in extracting their justice and/or revenge in the future? There were alternative to torture, after all.

Firming her resolve, Kasumi walked into the room that Ranma and Hiko were sharing, only to stop short as she saw both of them in a very intimate position. Aside from the fact that Hiko had no proof to her hair color, there was a very nice tattoo of a snake that wrapped from her nether regions around her hips and back down the other side. That and apparently Ranma-kun fit his name very well.

"Oh… oh, my..." Was it warm in there?

"Hrmm, Ko-chan, it appears that we have an audience." Ranma murmured to Hiko.

"Mmmm, do that again, anta... Kasumi, was there something you wanted? To join in, maybe? I wouldn't mind, would you, Ma-koi?"

"Hnnn… nope, not me, Ko-chan… how about it, Kas-chan? Want to jump in?"

Kasumi flushed a deep red and stammered out an apology before hastily exiting the room, completely forgetting what it was she wanted to say. But she had very, very good dreams that night.

The next morning dawned with the shrieking of a damned soul finally realized its own demise as Genma attempted to punt Ranma out the window in order to subdue, I mean train, his son in the art of unarmed combat.

However, the previously mentioned son, or more precisely his wife, was having none of that, and administered an appropriate, to her mind, corrective measure. She pumped about 10,000 volts of demonically enhanced electricity through him on his way out the window.

The day continued from there in the same slightly surreal manner as the previous one had, meaning that the usual morning shenanigans was either absent or swiftly halted. On a side note, Kasumi had a slightly silly edge to her normal smile and breakfast was about five minutes later than usual. However, things swiftly came to a head when Ranma set down his bowl and cleared his throat.

"Hiko and I will be going to school, at least for the next few months, in order for the both of us to complete high school before moving on to our normal work. We'd like to keep living here, but there need to be changes made here, for the better of both families; and they need to be adhered to. Are there any questions, so far?"

Akane, being the blockhead that she is, opened her mouth and proceeded to stuff her knee in it.

"What makes you think that you have any right to order my family around, jerk? Last time I checked, the only reason you were here was that stupid join the schools pledge!"

Ranma gave her a long look before glancing to his left, where Hiko sat.

"Dear, if you would?"

Hiko pulled out the same hammer that had been used the night before and smirked at Akane in a "go ahead and try something" manner.

"As an answer to your question, Akane," he began, "My recent elevation to godhood gives me the right. Having the favor of both the heavens and the hells is a very, very good thing for any mortal family, and entire wars have been fought in order to obtain this favor. Additionally, my sphear of influence give me the right; considering introduced myself last night as a GOD OF HONOR! These changes are what are needed in order to help your family, Akane. Keep in mind that we just want to help the families, and everything we're going to say is to the betterment of them. Not the schools, but the families. Like I said, both families have the favor of both sides, and all it takes to lose that favor is one arrogant action by a mortal. Think on that for a moment."

"To continue; Soun, you'll need you to start teaching again. It's not right, just, or honorable to depend on your daughters to support you, emotional loss or no. If you like, I'll help you get back into shape first, but this needs to happen. Next, Kasumi needs to go to college, even if only for one class per day. She needs social interaction with people her own age, and its better that she get it from college than, say, a seedy bar on a grimy street corner where punks like to hang out. Take whatever classes you like, Kasumi, Ko-chan and I will pay for them until the dojo gets solvent again. Nabiki, you need to put a stop the racketeering and blackmailing at school. It has endeared you to some of Ko-chan's co-workers, and I think you know what that means. The best choices we can think of for you to turn your talents towards, at least until after you graduate, is either matchmaking or guidance counseling. Heck, with the proper degree, any business would be happy to have such a sharp mind on its staff, but not if you carry a reputation for shady dealings."

Ranma took a sip of his tea, looked at Akane, and sighed.

"Akane, you really need to go and get some counseling. Figure out what the cause of your anger is and why it blinds you so. Also, figure out where this obsession you have with perversion comes from and fix it. You're a very sweet young woman when you try to be, but you don't try often enough. Therein lays the problem, your better nature peeks out and causes people to become infatuated with you, but then the whole 'bash first, ask never' attitude comes out. This is what causes men like Kuno to become obsessed with you, and is part of the reason for the morning mobs. Think on that for a while, please."

Ranma resumed eating while Hiko spoke up.

"Genma, You need to move back in with mother, I know that she loves you and misses you terribly at night, but if you stay here, than all you'll end up doing is hurting her more. If you want to help Tendo-san teach, that's fine, but the first thing you need to do is go be with mother. At any rate, should you decide to help Tendo-san teach, please remember that the students are not us, and cannot take the same training that we withstood. Fail in that, and prison will be the last of your worries. This is your final chance, Genma. Mess it up, and some of my co-workers have been waiting ages to get a hold of you. The end result will not be pretty or funny in the least. Now, Ranma and I had better get moving, and so should you and Akane, Nabiki. Thank you for breakfast, Kasumi. La~ter!"

With that, and a parting wave, both Ranma and Hiko shifted their clothes into a Furinkan High uniform and strode out the door. Well, Ranma's was an approximation of the standard Furinkan uniform, but it was tailored in silver silk and hugged his frame in all the right ways. Hiko's may have at one point in time been a Furinkan girl's uniform, but somewhere it lost most of the length in the skirt, all of the poof in the blouse, and they probably aren't supposed to be worn with platform stiletto-heeled Mary-Janes. Nor is the skirt supposed to be made of black vinyl, or the blouse an off-silver color.

Furinkan would never know what hit it.

Authors ranting corner:

Thank you for taking the time to look over the second coming of this story. A while back I promised to blow the dust off of a bunch of my old fics and see about polishing them up, so I started with the second fic I ever actually sat down and put some thought into. Ta-Da!

At any rate, I hope you've enjoyed the revisions, and I hope that you'll take the time to review this offering. Thanks again!

-Tamphis


	3. Chapter 3

Honor and Vengance

Chapter… Ummm… I seem to have lost count somewhere… I'll call it number three…

Disclaimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Disclaimed.

Ranma and Hiko had no sooner left out the door than the Tendo sisters turned on the fathers and began firing off rapid questions. Questions like "Why haven't you started teaching?", "Are you going to let him order us around like that?", "I really want to do this, may I?", and almost universally "What are you going to do about this?"

Soun, for his part, was floored and unable to collect his thoughts for more than a few minutes, while Genma was deep in thought.

"GENMA! How could your son talk to my little girls like that? And where exactly did he get the idea that it was alright to order ME around IN MY OWN HOME?" Soun shrieked.

Genma favored his old friend with a calculating gaze.

"Soun, do you remember that temple in Nepal? The one the with all the warrior nuns?"

Soun paused for a moment, and thought hard."…yeah, sort of. Why?"

Genma continued, still deep in thought. "Remember how they were able to defeat the master, and keep him from their undergarments?"

Soun blinked in confusion. "Not really, no. But, what does that have to do with this, Saotome?"

Genma sighed and looked Soun in the eyes. "The point is, Tendo, those nuns had the favor of almost EVERY female deity known to humanity, good AND evil, and probably some of the ones that have been forgotten. That favor is what gave them the edge that kept the master from their undergarments, you see. Now, here we are, with both of our families having the favor of both the Gods and Devils and nobody, it seems, is seeing it for what it is."

"And what exactly is it, Saotome?" Soun almost snarled.

"Good fortune, my friend. Pure, unaltered good fortune. Think about it for a moment. How is it that Nabiki's actions never caught the eye of the police or yakuza? Why, after all the damage that Akane has done to those boys at her school, has she never been brought up on charges? Or your family sued for that matter? How is it that you've always managed to come up with enough money to scrape by on everything? What possible reason could there be for our children, and ourselves for that matter, to be as strong in the Art as we are? Our families are blessed, Tendo, truly blessed. And we are in danger of destroying that blessing with our actions. Heavens know that I've done enough to destroy my Karma, and it's only through the graces of my son's good nature that he still has any love or respect for me! I know your daughters love you, Tendo, but do they still respect you? As a man, or as a father?" Genma stood and heaved a sigh. "As much as I'd like to ask you to play a round of _shogi_, it's past time that I go home and talk to my wife, about everything. I'd suggest, my old friend, that you do the same with your daughters. Without the tears this time, I think." Genma walked over to the _engawa_ and paused for a moment. "I'll come by after everything is done and we can talk about what happened over tea and _Go_, if you'd like"

Soun nodded a troubled expression on his face. "Yes, my old friend, I'd like that a lot."

Genma smiled, and walked out the door.

Soun turned to his daughters, and smiled. "Now, my dears, it seems that we all need to have a family discussion."

All three daughters nodded at him in agreement.

Meanwhile, at Furinkan, the divine couple was enjoying a leisurely stroll through the gates, instantly stirring up the gossip mill and astounding the onlookers. Ranma was entering the school, literally beside himself, and wearing something at least somewhat close to a uniform!

As with almost all semi-peaceful situations in Nerima, it was doomed to die almost from the get-go. This particular moment's demise arrived in the form of Tatewaki Kuno, who made a loud exclamation of joy upon seeing Hiko.

"Pigtailed-girl! You have returned to me! Come, leave the side of that vile wretch Saotome and join me in bliss!" he screamed while swooping at her.

Hiko smiled, and glanced at Ranma, who shook his head minutely. She pouted for a moment at being denied her fun, but stepped out to the side in order to allow her husband his amusements.

Ranma gave Kuno an impassive stare and stood in Kuno's path.

"Cur! Stand aside that I may embrace my most glorious love!"

"No." Ranma responded.

"What? You mean to defy me and thwart my love from expressing her desire for me? Cease your foul magic upon her, vilanous sorcerer, and release her that she might bask in mine glorious presence!" Kuno ranted.

Ranma's gaze hardened and he took a step forward.

"My wife, Kuno," Ranma began, "Is not yours to claim. She does not love you, and she never did. We were cursed, Kuno, cursed to always be together, but never able to see or speak to each other. The curse forced our two souls to share one body and mind. Do you realize what that means, Upperclassman Kuno?"

Kuno looked gob-smacked for a moment. "You mean…?"

Ranma nodded. "That's correct, Upperclassman. Every time you attacked me, you were attacking her. Every time you forced yourself on her, you were forcing yourself on me. Everything you did to me, you did to her, and vice-versa."

Kuno fell to his knees in shock. He had raised his sword against one of his twin loves, and at the same time, confessed his love to his eternal rival. A good portion of Kuno's world had just been turned on its ear, and he was having a little trouble adjusting.

After a moment, he managed to collect himself enough to form a coherent thought.

_Wife, _he thought, _he called her his wife… which means that they are married… but isn't he engaged to Akane Tendo?_

"And what of Akane Tendo? Is your engagement with her still standing? Furthermore, what of my sister? Twisted she may be, but love you she truly does."

Ranma shook his head. "I know of your family's madness, Upperclassman Kuno, and even with that in mind, I cannot bring myself to love her in return. Perhaps if things had been different, this might have changed, but with the way events and situations played themselves out, I cannot see it happening right now." Ranma paused and took a deep breath.

"With regard to Miss Tendo, I cannot honestly find it in my heart to forgive her for how she treated me. I know that you caused some of it with the morning fights, and that I made it worse with the teasing, but the choice of actions was completely hers, all along. She didn't have to attack me, or you, but she chose to anyway. Furthermore, she was so obsessed with the idea that either you, one of the boys from the morning brawl, or I were planning on forcing ourselves on either her or some other hapless female that she never gained any trust in me. She may have had sweet moments, and she is beautiful, to be sure, but I cannot ignore all that she has done. So, I say to you and everyone listening in, that the engagement between Akane Tendo and I is dissolved and annulled."

Kuno nodded along while Ranma was talking. Everything he was saying was making sense, and the man before him was incapable of lying, everyone said so, so his words must be true.

Hiko caught Ranma's attention and tapped her wrist in a meaningful way. Time was wasting, and they didn't want to be late, after all.

"Please, meditate upon my words, Upperclassman Kuno. Now, if you'll excuse me, my wife and I would like to get to class on time for a change." With a short bow, Ranma turned and rejoined Hiko on their way to class, leaving Kuno where he knelt.

The crowd of students parted for them like curtains on a stage.

The morning proceeded much as they used to, with the assorted students prying into each other's personal lives and speculating on the direction of the local rumor mill. However, the local vendor of such information was notably absent, along with her pugilistic sister. The rumor mill had it reported, and summarily dispersed, that the chaos-bringer had split into male and female selves and was apparently in some sort of relationship with him/her self. This, of course, spawned a whole host of comments, from the "Damn! What a lucky dog!" all the way to the "Heh, Narcissism, anyone?" with a few odd "She's probably the only person that He could be in a relationship with and NOT drive insane!" thrown in for good measure.

The person who had the most drastic reaction was one Ukyo Kuonji; Okonomiyaki vendor extraordinaire. She hadn't actually thought that what was said last night was serious, Ranma was constantly finding himself in one odd scrape or another, and she felt confident that this one would be no different than the others. A few days of madcap zany-ness and then everything goes back to the status quo. At least until _her_ Ranma got his act together and decided to make the right choice (marrying her), that is. So, one can imagine the surprise it was when Ranma, _her _Ranma walked into the classroom with his, literally, other half on his arm. Now, granted, she'd been at the dojo when Ranma had made the revelation, and also granted, that he'd come out and said that he pretty much hated her.

But come on, this was Ranma here; he couldn't hate anyone if his life depended on it!

'But, then again…' she thought, 'he's never actually stood up for himself before, either…'

This thought did little comfort her, and much to further unsettle her current state of mind. It was with a troubled heart that she ascended the stairs to the classroom, visions of all the times that she could have been there as a friend for Ranma, supported and comforted him in his times of need, where she chose instead to play the fiancé card in a bid to further cement her place in the fiancé game. These thoughts continued plaguing her, and her heart continued breaking from the disgust and self-loathing her actions caused. Introspection, at least honest introspection, is never an easy thing, and Ukyo's was no exception.

The school day wore on until the half-way point when the students were released for lunch. This was when Ukyo felt it was her chance to speak with Ranma about everything. Heartsick, she followed him and her out the classroom door and into the schoolyard. Casting about for a moment, she quickly located the pony-tailed divinity and approached him, with a small amount of trepidation.

"Ran-ch-, I mean, Ranma, can we talk for a moment?" she asked.

Ranma looked at her with an unreadable expression for a moment before nodding slightly.

"Well, that depends, Kuongi-san." Ukyo flinched slightly at the form of address. "Is my best friend trying to ask, or is my so-called fiancé trying to ask?" he queried.

Ukyo sighed and looked at him with a heartbroken expression. "You really meant what you said, didn't you?"

Ranma looked her dead in the eyes and simply replied "Every last word."

Ukyo flinched as if his words had physically struck her.

"What none of you seemed to understand is that I wanted to make the choice on my own, and that while I was trying to make that choice, I needed support from the ones who were supposed to be my friends. All I got instead were 'Ranma take Shampoo to date, yes?' or 'Ranchan, don't you like your cute fiancé's cooking?' and 'Ranma-Sama! You shall be mine!'. Nobody actually took the time to ask me what I wanted! On top of that, there was mine and Akane's fathers trying everything under the sun to get us married to each other, and the cavalcade of rivals out for my blood. Oh, and let's not forget the Idiots Three: Kuno, Mousse, and Ryouga. It's not like those three constantly attacking me over things they had either heard second- or third-hand , misunderstood, or blew WAY out of proportion. You think about all of that, put yourself in my shoes, and then see if you feel particularly charitable towards anyone involved."

Ukyo blanched as his words struck home and the pain in her heart shot to a new height.

"I thought gods were supposed to be kind Ranma…" she began

"Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind, Ukyo." Ranma finished. Further conversation was halted as the bell signaling the end of the lunch break rang, and all the students began filtering back into their classrooms.

The remainder of the day as a riot of rumors, notes, and random classes that nobody paid attention to, anyway. I mean, seriously, who actually takes underwater basket-weaving? Even for a humanities credit? Ranma and Hiko continued to weather the storm of gossip and endeavored to pay attention to their classes, though it was extremely difficult to do so. The notes continued to pile up and it eventually got to a point where Hiko had to flash-fry them with a small burst of fire.

Needless to say, the notes stopped after that.

The end-of-day bell had rung and the general student population or Furinkan was exiting the building when one of the most chilling sounds known to humanity echoed through the air.

"SWEETO!"

Author's Notes:

This chapter took me a long time to get out, primarily because I couldn't remember where the plot was going in the first place. I'll keep after it, but I fear this story may die a lingering death from neglect and lack of inspiration.


End file.
